Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Dirty Snow

Much to my surprise, the snow had fallen and it was really deep. Maybe not ten inches, as predicted, but it was still pretty, and deeper than I’d seen in years. Sam Wiley, our neighbor, had come to check on us and stoke the fire.

As he walked up the sidewalk, obscured now by snow, his boots left a few spots of red mud behind. The yard was blanketed with snowy white, but the tiny mud spots stood out in stark contrast. It marred the beauty somehow, and, as I made my way out the front, I wondered if that’s what sin looks like to Jesus. His blood washes us white as snow, but we mar it with the dirt of sin. Even a little bit spoils the purity, makes it less than it was. Little bits like “just a little” unkind thought, “just a little” disobedience, “just a little” compromise. “Just a little” still looks bad on the blanket of white.

Take a few minutes today to look at your heart. How white does it look to Jesus? His blood was shed so it could be (and stay) white as snow.

“Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness... Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin... wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”